


Choices and Chances

by Kashthescribe



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Childhood Friends, Detectives, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Friendship/Love, Mystery, Plot Twists, Police, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Running Away, Sad Ending, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Understanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 19,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kashthescribe/pseuds/Kashthescribe
Summary: Life of Powerpuff girls and Rowdyruff boys changed. Brick is now a detective and Blossom a psychiatrist. What will happen when they both meet each other as an adult, not knowing who the other person is?
Relationships: Brick/Blossom Utonium
Comments: 18
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chief Joshua Guerra of Townsville PD entered in Powers Psychological Research Center. He showed receptionist his police badge and a simple white card with an eradicate design in pink.  
The receptionist smiled and quietly led him into the basement. The basement was none like the basement ever seen. Soft beige and pink walls with lots of calligraphic work.  
“Justice above all” one read.  
“Serving humanity from the day we were created” written in a beautiful red.  
This place was warm and cold at the same time. Chief never liked the vibes this “basement” gave him.  
The receptionist opened a door to a luxurious office and gestured Chief to enter.  
Chief Guerra fixed his eyes on the resident of the office. Young, capable and most promising individual of the Townsville.  
“ It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Chief.” A sweet yet serious feminine voice spoke.  
“What brings you here?”  
“This.” Chief slid a file towards the female.  
“We need your help to know about him.” 

“Interesting.” She spoke as she gazed on the contents of the file. Her eyes fixed on the profile picture.  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Detective Callahan raised the volume of his car radio. Song's beat was like morphine to his throbbing head. He closed his eyes, rested his head on the seat, hoping to find some calmness.  
“ You are a damn fool.” He said to himself. “So much for keeping a low profile.”  
A knock came on his window. He wanted to ignore it even if it is for a while. But he turned down the radio and lowered the window.  
“You again.” He gritted his teeth. Tiredness could be seen in his eyes. “I thought I ditched you.”  
“Apparently not, Officer Callahan.” Voice was sweet, bit amused. He rolled up his eyes. This was his new partner, or more accurately a consultant attached to him, Rhea Timmons.  
Detective Arias Dylan Callahan has a pretty heated argument with Chief. He was never good with teams. Always worked solo. But the chief had different plans for him. So he opened the passenger door to let her in. She slid in, he, on the other hand, took a huge sigh.  
“Simmons?” he called her after a few moments.  
“ Timmons, Officer. Rhea Timmons.” Her correction annoyed him.  
“Whatever.” He said like some rough teenager.  
“As I am stuck with you, I need to clear somethings.” He eyed her carefully in calm, collected yet somehow, annoyed manner. His sharp gaze seemed to be dissecting each and every integer in the equation called Rhea Timmons.  
“First of all, I don’t want my partner to dress up like some actress from Boston Legal.” He pointed at her coat and her skirt. “Dress like a normal person.”  
“Understood, Officer.” Her gaze was equally cold, soul-piercing and wise beyond her age.  
He felt her body radiating the most complex emotions. There was a hint of curiosity, ambition, nervousness and also confusion. His clairvoyance developed a lot after puberty hit him. The only superhuman power he still used it. His clairvoyance consisted to perceive the emotional state of others. He wasn’t as good as a detective others assumed him to be. His general street smartness combined with his clairvoyance gave him the edge.  
‘It will be hard to work with the usual methods.” He thought.  
The very next thing his head ached like a really bad hangover. Reason? Off the charts piqued interest in him from his partner. A sense of excitement.  
‘the hell?’ he tried to clear his head from the emotions he was enduring.  
“Are you okay, officer?” a wave of panic.  
He took some deep breaths, 30 seconds to get himself together.  
“Fine.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Hmm.”  
He needed a good rest.  
“Also Timmons, I don’t like others asking me personal questions. Got that?” voice hard, deadpan and harsh. Too defensive.  
“Yes, officer.” Now, she wasn’t radiating confusion. She was serious with the same mysterious aura that can only rival him. Her face was polite.  
“No officer, just Callahan.”  
She nodded.  
His hand went back to stereo.  
“Do you mind, Timmons?”  
She shook her head. He maxed the volume.  
……………………….

Brick was frustrated by her frequent visits. How come she only visited him but not his brothers? That was a question he asked himself many times. He was more arrogant, angry and wild than his brothers. Yet she chooses to visit him every single week.  
He was 13 and he hated her more than anyone.  
As soon Mr.Kinnamann, Townsville Juvenile Center’s in charge left them alone, he broke his quiet demeanor.  
“Go away, blondie!”  
“Some gratitude would be nice, Brick. Do you know how many strings I had to pull just to see you.” She stared at him with her sapphire blue eyes.  
“Very flattering. Thanks for stopping by.” Sarcastic vibes were off the charts. “Now go away! Leave me alone.”  
“I brought presents.” Bubbles took no notice of his sarcasm.  
“You have already given us a very good present.” Bitterness was seeping out of him making the environment gloomy. “This.”  
He gestured towards the walls surrounding him.  
“Blondie” sighed.  
A cruel smile formed on Bricks' face.  
“You know Brick, this is all your doing. My sisters and I had no part in putting you guys here. The guy you beat up was my friend, he barely survived. I tried to save you and your team this. But do you think they would have listened to me? I am after all a 13 years old girl.”  
“Your leader knows you come here?” He wanted to know.  
“Who says she has to know. She is as stubborn as you are.” Bubbles smiled, dimples forming her cheeks.  
Brick wondered what would it be like to smile like her. Genuine, heart-warming and sincere. He seemed that feeling out of his mind.  
She emptied her bag. iPod, a bag of sweets and a packet of cinnamon-flavored bubblegum. His favorite.  
“Do share it with your brothers.” She chirped.  
“Gum is for you only.”  
He couldn’t think of any reason why is she being so nice to him.  
“I don’t get it. What do you see in this gum? I tried one piece and YUCK!” She made a face.  
He found himself chuckling.


	2. Chapter 2

For many hours, Rhea Timmons sat beside Arias Callahan quietly. He just roamed the streets, occasionally shifting to radio for rock music. Rhea thought to make small talk many times but his serious face didn’t give her courage.

Dr. Rhea Timmons had worked many times with Townsville PD behind curtains. She was a psychiatrist by profession. Her area of expertise was to get hidden information from notorious criminals. Her new abilities were very helpful in her current profession. If Chief had come to her to crack a person like Callahan, that meant this person must be very good at hiding his self.  
She studied her subject. It was obvious that Arias Callahan was deliberately trying to be inconspicuous. Also, he was ignoring her with all his might. 

But 5 hours of silence was way too much to bear. Callahan had his car in the parking, merely resting his head with his eyes closed.

She gathered her energy and finally spoke up.

“So you grew up in Townsville?” Her voice came out too polite. She cringed on her own too sweet voice. Talk about cliché.

“Hm.” That was his response.

“Is that a yes?” 

He opened one eye. A warning in his gaze. She held her ground against his piercing and uncomfortable gaze.

He responded after all. “Yes, and now don’t talk. Let me rest.” 

“Aren’t we on a duty?”

“ There’s nothing for us to do right now. I can slack off.” But his mind saying, “This should be fun.”

“A tease, huh?” she scoffed.

“Got ya, Timmons” This caused her to move her head involuntary towards him.

Her change in emotions caused Callahan to become uneasy.

“I have to focus on.” She thought. “If I am to find everything about him in three months, I have to focus.”

She was not given much time to crack this person who was exceptionally good at hiding his thoughts. She remembered his profile. Apparently, Arias Callahan emerged in Townsville at the age of 18. He joined the police academy and graduated with flying colors. 

His police record was too clean to be true. His accomplishments were off the charts. A kind of a super cop but he always kept a low profile among his colleagues. Most would say that he is a loner. Previous Chief favored him a lot. 

His personality was a bit shady which raised some suspicions in the eyes of the new chief.

“You are weird, Timmons.” Callahan’s words pissed her off. 

She started to ignore him.

All the time he was humming metal rock or raps in his mind. 

She picked up no distinct thought.

The next day started on a little bit easy note.

As Rhea stepped inside the office, he smiled.

She had taken his advice and dressed up in jeans with a chocolate shirt and a black jacket. Her long dark hair was up in a ponytail yet they were still reaching her hips. 

For the first time, Callahan noticed that she was actually very pretty.

“ She seemed like out of beauty pageant,” he thought, making her feel bashful.

Her feelings hit him. He met her eyes and Rhea smiled shyly.

“Sometimes, it seems like she is reading my thoughts”

Fear hit him like a tsunami. He quickly for anything that could indicate her sudden change of emotion. But she calms herself down instantaneously.

“I hate partners, too many emotions in this close vicinity. Especially if a girl is involved.” He thought bitterly.  
Her calmness increased in magnitude making him calm too.  
“Who am I kidding, huh? Mind-reading? My ass!”

“Long day ahead, Timmons.” He spoke his first words of the day as he picked up his car keys.

Rhea was hoping to get some clue that could give her a chance to get information about her target, but to her disappointment, her second day with officer Callahan was no different from the first one.  
……………………. 

“Get up, red-cap. It’s time.” Mr. Kinnamann called Brick. 

Brick quietly got up.  
He remembered one time when he didn’t listen to Kinnaman, he ended up in the isolation area for two days without food. 

Kinnaman led him to the meeting room. Two hours with Bubbles! he let out a huge sigh. 

Bubbles smiled at him when he entered. 

“How are you, Brick?” she extended her arms towards him. He ignored. 

“Come on, Brick. Is that a way to treat a friend?” she said. 

“You ain’t my friend! My friend, a Powerpuff?” he gritted his teeth, “Never.” 

She looked at him, stunned.  
She thought his icy outer surface was melting. She looked down. 

“Why do you care about us?” he asked loudly. “Why do you? We are nothing but enemies.” 

She looked up, her eyes were glistening with tears. He made a sound in disgust. 

“Even enemies deserve compassion, Brick.” She said in a small voice. 

“Go away, pigtails!” he said. 

“As you don’t want me here, I guess, I should go.” She got up. He turned to her. She had been nothing but nice to him.

Remorse tried to fill in Brick's heart.

He wanted to apologize. 

He wanted to say sorry. 

“No,” he thought “I won’t stoop that low.”

Then she turned and placed a brown paper bag in front of him and left quickly. He emptied it on the table. It contained a packet of his favorite gum, a novel, his favorite genre “a thriller” and five DVDs of most recent action movies.

He placed his head on his hands, pulling his hairs. 

The pain was way too intense to bear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
Chief looked at Rhea with anger. She was calm and passive as always.

“What is this?” He slammed the file. The tiniest rthe report he had ever seen in his 20 years.

“Dr. Timmons, are you serious?” he calmed himself.

“Dead serious, chief.”

“You guaranteed me results. This is a report after 7 days of shadowing him.” He was clearly frustrated.

“Yes, I guaranteed results. Right now, I can only say that you have a devoted officer on your hand.” Dr. Timmons stood her ground.

“You are a mind-reader. Read his frigging mind!”

“Read the mind of a person who hardly thinks anything outside of rock songs and how to catch certain criminals? Try that for years, chief.” She challenged him. 

The the atmosphere there was quite intense and also awkward.

“We are doomed then.” Chief Guerra threw his hand up in surrender.

“We are not doomed. Let me work on him. Give him time to open up to me. Let him trust me enough to drop his walls. You will have the results. All good comes to those who wait.” She smiled. Chief hated her smile, no matter how pretty that smile was. 

“After three months, I want all the details about this guy. Each and everything. Callahan is up to something.” 

“Like I said, Chief. You will have the answers.” She got up and left Chief to sulk.

She knew deep inside her that it was very difficult to crack the mystery known as Arias Callahan.   
For the first time in her life, she was worried.  
. . . . . . . . . . . 

“Morning.” 

Callahan greeted her while sipping coffee in the headquarters. The weather was stormy. The rain was pouring down hard. Rhea had difficulty even reaching the police headquarters.

She just looked at him with bloodshot eyes. She hadn’t slept last night. It took her mind a while comprehending his morning greetings.

“Morning.” Her voice barely above a whisper. He could clearly sense her usual calmness changed into somewhat dark.  
An emotion he couldn’t name.

“Rough night?” He asked finally. A hint of concern.

She tried to read his mind again.

“The moon comes up and the sun goes down  
We find a little spot on the edge of town  
Twist off, sip a little, pass it around  
Dance in the dust turn the radio up  
And that fireball whiskey whispers  
Temptation in my ear  
It's a feeling alright, Saturday night  
And that's how we do it round here.  
Yeah that's how we do it round here”  
Country rock. For a gloomy day, such song was out of character.

“Just what goes in this guy's mind!” she thought then inwardly laughed.

“It’s the weather.” She managed to say. Her mind was stuck on last night meeting.

“such a big liar.” She could clearly hear his thought. Then back to his singing.  
His phone rang. 

She was too self-absorbed to notice him and his thoughts.

“Get up, Timmons.” 

She kept looking as he picked up the car keys.

“We have a case.” 

She watched lightening and heavy rain from the window. 

What a day for a homicide!  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Brick Jojo was sitting all alone on the roof of Juvenile Centre. He had sneaked out from his dormitory to get away 20 other boys who he shared the hall with.

His thoughts were in a very dark place.

“They have abandoned us.” He thought. “Mojo, Him both abandoned us. And now…” he pulled his hair, “I have messed up whatever it was with Blondie”

Beick never did this much thinking in his entire life. He was not a thinker who had always a been acting upon his instincts and impulses and thought about consequences later. But confinement of Juvi had changed him. He was loud, always shouting, beating up his brothers over nothing. Now he didn’t even recognize himself right now.

It’s been more than a month Bubbles Utonium had   
visited him.

He felt someone creep upon him. Instantly, his hand found itself around a neck.

“Relax, bro. It’s me.” Boomer's squeaky voice got on his nerves. His grip softened.  
“I knew I would find you here.” 

“Go back to sleep, Boomer.” He growled but Boomer ignored his anger entirely and sat beside her.

“ain’t sleepy.” 

He kept quiet. Boomer's presence numbed his thoughts.

“What’s up, big bro?” and he was pulled right back in. He didn’t answered. He knew he had none.  
“Our benefactors seems to forget us.” His brother said after a while. “ I was enjoying candy. How long it has been? A month? More?”

“5 weeks.” Brick's voice was barely inaudible. “the way I treated her, I’ll be surprised if she’ll ever come back.” He thought.

“But if they do, thank them for all the good stuff. You are quiet rude. I don’t know why they don’t want to meet me. I’m the cutest here.” Brick got irritated.

“you never told us about them. Who are they by the way? Gangrene Gang? Fuzzy Lumpkins? Oh oh I know, I’m pretty sure of it Ameoba Boys.” Brick just punched Boomer's face at this point.  
“Can you shut your shitty mouth!?” 

“That’s my bro back.” Boomer laughed.

How much worried were his brothers for him? He just comprehended.

He had to get his shit together. If not for himself, then for his brothers. 

“Go sleep, Boom.” He ruffled Boomer’s hair, “or you’ll miss breakfast in the morning.” I’m a leader of Rowdyruffs. I have to get my act together.

“But you are created evil. You were created in the prison toilet seat. That will forever be branded upon you.” a voice in his head.

“No. No. No!” I don’t want to.” 

“They are perfect girls, you are opposite.”

He pulled his hair and cried silently.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
Detective and Psychiatrist both got off the car.

“Detective Callahan.” A policeman ran to him. “This is nasty, sir. Felicia Hanks, 27, Caucasian, a small café barista. A large head wound and multiple cuts on the entire body. Found dead by her neighbor. An elderly woman in the 60s. No witnesses.” The young officer looks a sigh. “I am not cut up for seeing folks dead like that.”

“That is nasty, Uley.”

Police were doing their job. Rhea had never seen Callahan this focused. His mind was entirely focused on the case at hand.

When the entered dead girl's apartment, she was beyond horrified. 

Felicia Hanks was no longer could be recognized as a beautiful girl. With bleeding cuts all over her body, she was in the pool of blood. Biggest pool Rhea had ever seen. Most disturbing was half of her brain out of the skill. Even Callahan looked disturbed. 

Suddenly Callahan moved and gazed at her with worry.

Bile rose up from her stomach. She couldn’t control. This was too much. She ran towards what appears to be a bathroom. 

Callahan followed her immediately.

As she emptied her stomach, he was supporting her thin frame, caressing her back.

“Sorry.” She mumbled, wiping her mouth with the tissue he handed her.

“It's alright.” He replied kindly. A rare thing.

“My partner, tough as a cotton ball. But then again, this is way too much disturbing for a mere consultant.” she could hear his mind clearly.

“Uley.” He shouted.

“Yes, Detective?” the young officer was disturbed as well. He avoided looking at the body.

“Take Ms. Timmons out. Get her some water or something.” He spoke up while giving him his car keys.

Arias Callahan looked around for clues. He found nothing in the bedroom, kitchen and lounge.  
But then he found a piece of paper tucked under the bathroom sink with a bone-chilling sentence.

“Product of Betrayal, DIE”

His instincts we’re blaring sirens.  
………………………..  
Rhea sat inside the car with a cup of coffee gone cold.

“I’ve fought monsters, master criminals, villains all my life. I’ve never seen so much blood and a human body like that.”

The rain was pouring hard. Flashes of lightning and roar of the thunder were not helping her emotionally wretched state. Her nerves were getting weaker and weaker as her brain played the scene from real-life horror she just witnessed.

Arias opened the door and slid in.

She sat there unfocused. Arias, however, was feeling her emotions, her horror. He struggled to find the right words. He couldn’t find anything.  
They sat together for an hour, not touching, not speaking. Their mere presence giving strength to each other.

“The person..” Rhea spoke, “ the one who did that…looks like…I think it will happen again…” her voice was pained. Her instincts were the same as him. It looked like a job of a serial killer.  
Her pain hurt his head, literally. He wished he could just shut off his clairvoyance. 

“Arias, will it happen again?” now she was looking at him with her bright somewhat unnatural brown. 

“Not if we find him first.” His stern, the determined voice was soothing.

“We will. We have too.” he sensed her emotions shifting from sorrow to determination. 

“We will, Timmons. Or I’ve failed this good city.” Arias is unaware that she listened to each and every thought.  
…………………

Brick sat in front of a Blonde girl.

She had come. She came after 7 weeks but she came. 

For the first time, he sat there without any hatred for her and her team.

“I’m so sorry, Brick.” Bubbles said guiltily. He got confused.

“I was the one who hurt her last time with my words and she is saying sorry? She is not right in her head.” He chuckled inwardly.

“It was selfish of me. I never meant to stop visiting, stop meeting you. It just…” she looked down. The somehow white tabletop was more interesting than anything else.

“Blondie, I…, I’m…” he couldn’t make himself say sorry.

“Please forgive me, Brick. I feel really bad. I shouldn’t have stopped coming here. I just didn’t know what to say to you.” She had tears in her sapphire eyes. “I nearly abandoned you.”

Abandon. What a word!

He took a deep breath.

“Our creators abandoned us. You are the only one who cares about us.” He wanted to say but didn’t.  
“Will you forgive me, Brick? Right?” she pleaded. He just nodded awkwardly.

Bubbles smiled wiping her tears.

“How are you, Brick? How are your brothers? They treat you fine here?” she asked him too many questions under one breath.

He found himself smiling. It felt good that someone cares for them.

“We are fine. They treat us okay.” He replied.

“Do they educate you?”

He got confused.

“I mean schooling?”

“They do.” He stopped being egoistic brat a few weeks ago. “Math, science, literature, grammar. All the bad ones.”  
She giggled.

“Mathematics is worse.”

“Math is passable. I think grammar is the very worst.”

“Use of very with superlatives shows me how bad you are in grammar.”

“Yeah. I got D. And honestly, I don’t know what you said.”

Both laughed.

“ I talked to Ms. Bellum. I was hoping to make authorize here at least let your team play outside.” She became unhappy. “I don’t think they are listening to me.” 

“They are afraid that we’ll somehow fly off.” 

She nodded.

“Its okay, Blondie. We don’t mind this…this..” he thought about the appropriate word ‘jail?... Prison?...’ A word came.

“Isolation.”

“But it’s not fair to you guys. You are not bad. Especially you Brick. And I know as a leader you’ll keep your team in line.”

“it is not easy. Butch is quite a handful.” He laughed to ease her up.

“Brick.”

He sighed.

“Not everyone thinks like you. Not even your sisters, I think.”

“They don’t know.”

He was astounded.

“Still? You should tell your leader to know.” He reasoned.

“Professor knows and that’s enough for now.”  
More surprises.

“And he let you visit the rowdy ruff leader.” He was being very sarcastic. “How can her creator be that naive? Doesn’t he thinks of them as daughters?”

“Professor says it’s not your fault because you boys are not taught that there are other ways to live.” 

He felt like a guinea pig.

“Rowdyruffs were created evil. The evil we will be forever.” He said bitterly.

“I don’t believe that.” She declared kindly. “I know you act like a total jerk most of the time but you are just like us. You too have cha choice between good and evil. It’s up to you. And a few seconds ago, you were accepting that many people think of you as evil but you are not.”  
He never knew he had a choice.

If he believed her that meant their entire existence was meaningless.

“You have a choice.” She said again.

He didn’t want to think about it.

“you got me gum this time?”

She giggled and threw a packet at him.

“I never ever forget.”  
…., ………


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5  
ARIAS looked again and again at the small piece of paper.

“Product of betrayal?” What does that mean?” Officer Kevin Ryan asked. He was in their team to solve the case.

Rhea just shook her head.

“Arias, this is bad. We haven’t had a single murder in what? 5 years? People are sure getting daring with Powerpuff not around.” He sighed. “What was Professor Utonium thinking when he asked the Mayor to relieve them from saving people of Townsville.”

Rhea’s face heated up. Arias Callahan shifted his gaze unnoticeable by her. She just got up and left.  
Arias tried to pry her thoughts but it was too difficult for him.

“Ari.”

Callahan didn’t seem to listen.

“Ari? Arias? ARIAS?” Ryan's voice diverted his attention. 

“Is she alright?” Ryan asked.

Arias watched her go away. All depressed and hurt. “a fangirl perhaps?”  
“I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“Advice from your friend here, Ari. Work with her. Don’t ignore her.” Ryan said. 

“Dude, you are the only one with a pretty lady partner. Don’t disgrace us.” Ryan winked. 

“Does it look like I care?” Arias looked at him a bit playfully. He knew Ryan just trying to relax him a bit. 

“I guess not, you lucky bastard.” Ryan chuckled. “Speak of the angel!” Ryan saw Rhea coming towards them. 

“I’ll leave you to it.” Ryan elbowed him and got up. 

“All okay, Rhea?” Ryan asked with a smile.

She nodded and forced a smile.

“I’m going to records,” Ryan told her and went off. 

‘They are on first name bases?’ Rhea heard Arias thinking. 

“Officer Ryan is very friendly.” She said to him. His eyes were fixed on files. 

“Forensics?” she asked and took a seat beside him. 

“The head wound is made by something like a dagger. The murderer must have been very strong.” He told her, hoping his voice remains void of emotion. 

“Cranium is very hard bone to get through,” Rhea said. 

“But the problem is we found no fingerprints, hair samples or any other clue which might lead us to the murderer.” He told her. ‘We have nothing in our hands.’ He thought. 

“Every system has it’s a flaw.” She told him. 

“Meaning?” he asked her, confused. 

“Meaning, detective. There is no such thing as a perfect murder.” She smiled and placed a paper before him. Five names were written on it. He looked at her with a question in his eyes. 

“List of people who hated Felicia Hanks.” She told him. 

Arias’ mind was still stuck on the murder. Rhea shuddered on the revival of that memory. 

Arias felt the shift of emotion. He bites his lips, slowly put his big hand on her shoulder. 

“We will get him.” He assured her. 

“I hope so, Callahan.” She replied. 

He pulled his hand back. ‘Get a grip, Ari.’ He thought, ‘Girls have a wild imagination. Keep a low profile.’   
‘What is he afraid of?’ she thought, ‘low profile?’ 

‘She is again staring at you.’ She heard him thinking. ‘Keep your distance.’ 

‘Poor guy.’ She felt herself feeling sympathetic for him. She had never seen someone so afraid of people in general. 

‘She is feeling pity for me?’ he thought, ‘I’ll go nuts if she’ll keep shifting her emotions like that.’ There he declared his unique ability. 

‘He can feel other people's emotion?’ she was astonished, ‘is such can be possible?’ she just stared at him with wide eyes. 

“What!” he asked, glaring at her. His voice snapped her back to reality. 

“Nothing.” She whispered. He got back to studying forensic reports. 

‘an emotion-reader?’ she thought, ‘is it even possible?’ her eyes went back to Arias’ handsome face.  
………………….   
Rhea and Arias had talked to all five people on the list. No one among them hated enough to murder Felicia Hanks. Arias was more frustrated. He was working 24/7 on this case but all his hard work was in vain. He was even spending nights in Headquarters going through stacks and stacks of files. Rhea was worried about him. He was barely sleeping, eating and resting. His mind was stuck on murder cases. 

They both just sat inside the car when Arias's phone rang. “Callahan!” he said as soon he picked up.   
‘God! No!’ Rhea heard his mind chanted. 

“We’re coming right over!” he said and looked at Rhea. 

‘New murder.’ He said in his mind. 

‘He struck again!’ she thought. Her whole body was tingling. 

“Get hold of yourself, Timmons,” Arias said angrily. He was in bad temper already. New murder and then suddenly bursting emotions from Rhea were driving him crazy. “You are in police. If you’ll puke today, I’m calling our partnership quits!” he said rudely. 

Rhea tried to get hold of herself. The last thing she needed was Angry Arias on her tail. He was already cursing in such words no child should be allowed to listen. She wondered if even adults nowadays use such language, the type Arias Callahan was using. 

They reached the crime scene. 19 years old Samantha Brooks was a victim at that time. In her bedroom mirror, written in blood was ‘We have killed twice. We'll do it again’   
"We", deductions were made solely upon this single word. A group of serial killers with a plan and reason.

The next day, another victim. 12-year-old boy Chase Benet. Finishing their work, they sat inside their car. 

‘One more life is gone cuz I cannot find the culprit.’ He was thinking. He then gripped the steering and banged his head on it repeatedly. Rhea instantly pulled him away from steering and pushed him towards the seat pinning his head backward. 

“Have you lost your scenes?” she asked him. His face was red, his eyes were closed. 

‘Failed!’ he was thinking. 

“Arias! Arias look at me!” Rhea slapped him right on his face. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Stunned. ‘Did she just slapped me?’ 

“Do you really believe that somehow you could've averted these deaths without any serious clues?” Rhea asked him. 

He was cursing himself mentally. 

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Arias Callahan. Don’t break yourself. You need your senses, your wits to crack this case, understood?” Rhea looked in his honey eyes. 

“We will crack this case together.” Rhea removed her hand from his shoulder and softly touched where she had slapped him. The bruise was forming there. “For that, you need yourself with a fresh mind and a fresh body.” She saw color returning to his face. His madness changing into sanity. 

“I’ll drive.” She said. He quietly obliged. She dropped him into his apartment.   
“Sleep and eat.” She left her alone. 

She had learned a lot about Arias Callahan that day.  
……….  
Brick’s insomnia was worsening as he grew. Puberty wasn’t easy to understand without good guidance. His and his brother's powers were shifting. He couldn’t understand them. Bubbles were not much help here. He was shy about the natural changes occurring in him.

His friendship with Bubbles had blossomed into the only ever normal relation he ever had. He didn’t want to lose it. 

But then a very weird day came in his life. A day he didn’t know could ever come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter I've ever written. I hope you all like it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to my younger sis who made this chapter possible.  
> As a person looking for a career in writing please comment, criticize and give me your good advice to improve my writing.

CHAPTER 6  
“I don’t get it!” Ryan said, “27-year old, 19 years old and 12 years old. 1 accountant, 1 college girl/waiter, and one kid. There’s no pattern here!” Ryan three back files on the table. 

“I don’t know why, but there has to be a pattern here.” Rhea said, “they are all clean kills. Programmed and planed.” 

Ryan, Timmons, and Callahan were sitting around a table. Snapshots, files, forensic reports all over the table. 

“Maybe we got this wrong,” Callahan spoke after some time. Rhea and Kevin both looked at him. Callahan looks at them. “We are thinking that there is one killer, right?” they both nodded. They hold their breaths. 

“I think it is some kind of gang work,” Arias said. 

“It cannot be, Ari. All kills are exactly the same.” Kevin rejected his thought. “it indicates one killer.” 

“No. They are not. Samantha and Felicia have a knife or dagger marks on the back of their head. Slightly to the right side. That indicates that they are stabbed by the right hand.” Callahan starts searching the pile on the table. “But if we look at Chase's head.” Callahan placed three snapshots of victims in front of them. “See that wound is on the left side. Chase is stabbed by a lefthander.”  
“I can see your point, Arias,” Rhea exclaimed. 

“Multiple personnel work,” Callahan said. “If there is a new gang in town, we have to find who they are.” 

“But still no pattern.” Ryan said, “we are still in square one.” 

“Ryan, you read out all their files. Look for anything that is common in the victims. Even if it looks stupid.” Callahan stood up and gestured Rhea. “we are going to talk to someone. Maybe we’ll get some intel on the new gang.” 

They both went out of the station. 

“So where are we going?” Rhea asked him. 

“A place is commonly known as ‘Wannabe Lair.’” Arias told her, “I know a guy there. He is, he claims he is the eyes and ears of the criminal world.” 

‘And I know how to break him.’ The last sentence he said in his mind. 

Rhea smiled. 

‘Stupid Josh. Who cares Arias doesn’t have past on records!’ she thought and looked admiringly at him, forgetting about his ability. 

“Timmons.” He called her when her feelings hit him. “Stop staring!” 

She sheepishly lowered her head.

“You carry makeup?” he asked her. 

“Yes. Why?” she was confused. 

“Take out your eyeliner.” She searched her bag and took out her liner. 

“Great! Now we are going undercover.” He took eyeliner from herald a mirror. A moment after, his eyes were looking like gothic punk. 

“Your turn.” He gave her liner. She did as he told her. Now her eyes were all black. He smiled one of the crook smiles. 

“Wear your hair in a ponytail.” He said. She did. 

“Is it really necessary?” she asked. Cuz he was enjoying her nervousness. 

“Totally. Can’t get in the goth shop, if you don’t look like them.” He told her. They both walked into the parking area. She quietly went to their police car. 

“Timmons, over here.” He called her from some distance. Arias was standing beside a dangerous-looking Harley Davidson. She looked alarmingly at the bike. 

“Hop on, Timmons. We don’t have all day.” 

‘I can’t sit behind him on the bike.’ She thought. ‘what if someone saw me with him?’  
“No time for modesty.” He said to her, impatiently. 

Shyness and nervousness we’re hitting Arias wave after wave. He felt as if he is standing inside the raging sea. Rhea after some hesitation sat behind him. 

“Hold tight.” He said and with jerk started the bike. Rhea with a scream wrapped her arms around Arias' waist. 

‘Scared the hell out her.’ Arias thought. 

“You think!” she didn’t know how the words escaped her mouth. 

“What do you say?” Arias asked. 

“Whose bike is this?” she changed the subject.

“Mine.” He told her, “I can’t just roam around in police car, Timmons. It’s easy to gather intel if others take you as some average person other than a police officer.” 

She could see his point. 

“And please let me work my way there. Whatever I’ll say or do, don’t interfere.” 

They stopped near a shop marked ‘Fangmasters’. 

“Follow my lead.” Arias said to her and handed her chewing gum. “make sure you make bubbles again and again.” She wanted to ask why gum but his thoughts were telling her everything and she wasn’t liking his plan. 

They both went in. 

“I’m Ari and this is Katlyn.” Arias at reception. “I’m looking for my man, Tristan.” 

The girl was dressed in glossy black. Her hair, eyes even her lips were painted black. Her one arm had more ink than skin. Rhea wasn’t so sure that her and Arias's appearance could pass them as goths. 

“He is at back.” The girl said differently. Arias quietly moved towards the back of the shop. 

A guy was arranging comics. Black spiky hair, pale white complexion. His arms had tattoos. When he saw Arias, he acted as if he had just seen death. He tried to run by Arias was fast.  
“Hey, Tristan. Been looking for you.” Arias' grip was hard but his way was of old friends. 

“Dylan, I have done nothing. I know nothing.” Tristan was definitely scarred. Arias jerked him into the storage area and bolted the door. 

“Dylan, I am not doing anything bad. I am clean from the past 2 years.” Tristan's voice was small.  
“I know, man. I came to ask you something.” He gave a pause for an effect. “I want to know about recent murders.” 

“I swear to God, Dylan. I don’t know shit.” Tristan said. Arias grabbed his hand and broke his smallest finger.

“Oh, God!” Tristan yelled. Rhea looked at Arias with horror in her eyes. 

Tears came in Tristan's eyes. Arias looked calm. 

“Start talking,” Arias said. 

“I really don’t know….” These words ended up in scream cuz Arias broke another one. 

“Stop it, Callahan. You’re hurting him.” Rhea pushed Arias aside. 

“Back off, Katlyn,” Arias yelled and pressed Tristan's broken fingers increasing pressure gradually.  
“Stop! Stop! Stop! Please stop! I'll talk. I'll talk.” Tristan yelled. 

“Attaboy!” Dylan patted his cheek. 

“Truth is, even the boys are surprised who is doing this all,” Tristan told him.

Arias thought he is playing him. He slowly tried to reach Tristan's hand. 

“But when they look for who is doing this all. You know attacking their area, they found something even you, Dylan, won’t believe.” Tristan said. 

“What?” Arias said in the tone that made Rhea shudder. 

And from what Tristan told them, they knew how bad that situation was.  
………

Brick braced himself against Boomer’s punch. He stood tall, taking all the anger his younger brother could muster up. He was all bruised due to anti-X chemicals.

“You are an ass-hole of a brother! I hate you..” a punch, “I hate you…” another punch, “I fucking hate you….” Two more punches. 

Brick had already given heads-up to authority. He had told them not to interfere because he knew what he was doing.

He deserved all the rage. After all, he had signed the petition to put rowdy ruffs for adoption. Professor had come up with the plan to nullify all the superpowers. Professor was forced to. . . because they couldn’t control Butch Jojo. 

The first one to get adopted as Boomer. He was most normal looking from the lot.  
“I don’t want to go.” Boomer cried. Brick never knew he had the heart to actually see his brother cry like that. 

He had made the choice. It was Boomer's only chance to begin a new life. A fresh start.  
Biting his own lip, Brick pulled his brother into his arms. 

“Boomer.,” he called his brother but Boomer crying turned into sobs.

“It is your chance..” he was careful with his words. “A chance to start a good and better life. You can go out, play, make friends. Forget rowdyruffs.” Boomer shaped his head in denial.  
“Boomer, as a leader of rowdyruff, I order you to live a good life.” 

Boomer wriggled from his group and looked into Brick's ruby eyes.

“Fuck you!” he tried to punch him again. Brick was fast, he grabbed his arms and pulled him back into a hug.

“You must. Butch and I will be happy if you get a normal life.”

“You were always too good to be Rowdyruff, ya nerd,” Butch spoke up for the first time.  
After 3 days, Boomer went away with a childless couple.

Brick Jojo spent that night crying in the bathroom. Willingly letting your loved ones forget you is a heartbreaking process.

Bubbles' next visit was emotional too.

“Do you think I’ve done a good thing for him?” he asked Bubbles.

“You have done a great thing for Boomer, Brick.” She sat beside him offering comfort. “I know you wanted him happy and out of here”

“I want him safe, blondie. I want him to enjoy the world.” He was the verge of breaking down. Bubbles wrapped her arms around him and rated her head on his shoulder.

“its okay, Brick. You can act human for a while.” He who was keeping his sadness at bay, let his tears come out. “stupid feelings,” he thought.

“We are more human than we think we are, Brick.” 

“Why are you so nice to me, blondie?” he asked ripping his tears. “I’m your enemy, not your friend”

“We are friends, Brick.” She smiled “and stop calling me blondie, I have a name.”

“why?”

Because there isn’t much difference in both of us. We are surrogates, we have powers and we both were asked to be something we never wanted. Me a superhero, you a villain. I felt bad for you when I heard that He and Mojo both don’t want anything to do with you guys.” Her description angered him.

“so I am some sort of charity work?” He gritted his teeth. “you think of me as a “kicked puppy?”  
Bubbles sighed.

“I won’t lie, I did. But you aren’t some kicked puppy, Brick. I get to know real you. And you are a very agreeable person.”

“Agreeable?”

“nice even.” She chirped.

He huffed. And sat there with a blushed face.

“I’m glad I get to know you too, Bubbles.” He mumbled.

“See I told you, even nice.” She was happy and loud.

“Wait! Did you just said my name?”  
. . . .


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
They both went back to the precinct.

“Ari, there is only one thing common in them,” Ryan said when he saw Rhea and Arias walking in  
.  
“I know. We even know the murderers.” Arias said to Ryan.

“But we don’t have any evidence to support” Rhea added.

Ryan looked at Arias and then Rhea, unbelievably confused with the duo. Putting two and two together unlike average human beings, he smiled.

“You both perhaps know the murderers but I know the reason behind it, I think,” Ryan smirked.

“Let's hear it, Ryan.” Arias seemed like challenging him.

“Illegitimate children.” 

“I have said many times you say stupid things, Ryan but now I know you are bona fide idiot.” Arias scoffed. “Who cares about love child in this century?” but then his eyes went wide.

‘This is it. This is what Tristan was telling us about. A cult. This could happen, they could kill people born to affairs and flings’ His thoughts were all clear to Rhea who was listening to Arias's mind.

“You are acting like they are priests or something.” Ryan laughed.

“Funny that you mentioned priests,” Arias said. 

“They are priests?” Ryan’s eyes went wide. 

“A cult. A cult that hadn’t been much active for many years. Especially they had been abiding law all over America. KKK.” Rhea said, “At least that’s what Tristan Seyfarth told us.” Arias look at her with a warning. 

“Tristan, the fangmaster?” Ryan asked, “You worked him?” Ryan was looking at Arias. Arias winked. 

“Behave! Or he’ll run out of bones to break.” Ryan warned Arias. Arias just rolled his eyes up.  
Rhea’s eyes went wide. Ryan knew?

“KKK. I thought they were just part of history books. That will be tough. They are like Nazis.” Ryan said. 

“You should tell Hope to be careful, Ryan. We don’t know how they find victims but better be safe than sorry.” Arias gravely spoke to Ryan. Hope was Ryan's half-sister. A fling of his father during a business trip. Ryan just nodded.

He took out his phone and went to talk to her.

“About Tristan. It was barbaric!” Rhea let out her anger towards Callahan, “You broke the rules by harming a civilian.!

“Bend. Not broke, Timmons.” Arias said indifferently. 

“You broke his three fingers!” Rhea almost yelled. Arias placed a hand on her mouth and dragged her in most remote corners. 

“Listen, Timmons, we have to make hard choices and play dirty to get results.” Arias' voice was stern, “his hand will heal in a few weeks. We are saving lives on the coast of his hands.” 

“For that, we don’t have to hurt him, Callahan.” She said. 

“Hard choices always hurt, Rhea.” He used her name the first time. ”You have to get hurt when you made a bad choice, sometimes just because you make a choice. It doesn’t have to be good or bad.” She heard the pain in his voice. It wasn’t about Tristan. Then she saw a picture of his mind. A trio of boys she knew very well in her childhood. In an instant, he erased his thoughts. 

‘How?’ she thought. Arias Callahan’s past was definitely something to look into. He sensed the shift in her emotions like always.  
……………… 

Rhea went straight to her apartment. She shifted her clothes and took out her contacts. She looked at her real eyes for an instance then again wore them. She picked up her cell. 

“Professor? Are you free tonight?” she asked pulling some papers out from her secret compartment. 

“I’m coming over.” She hung up and went to Utonium residence. 

“Hello, honey.” Professor John Utonium greeted her at the door. She kissed his cheek. 

“How’s work?” he asked. 

“It’s fine, professor.” She replied. “I have some questions."

“Go ahead.” Professor’s white temples showed that he wasn’t a young man he used to be once. 

“its about the boys.” She told him while clasping her fingers. 

“Boys?” Professor became excited a lot. “Finally my daughter is all grown up!”

“The Rowdyruff boys, professor.” She just laughed.

“Ok. I’ll tell you what I can.” Professor sat up straight, his smile vanished.

“Chemical X in general. What is it, professor?” Did she ask in a professional mood?

“Chemical X is a powerful substance. Induces superpowers and also provide vital force for the development of surrogate beings.” 

“Professor you created power puffs to be a nice, perfect girl. Positive beings, let’s say. Do you had the formula to make them like that?” She asked as Professor served her lasagna, her favorite.

“I think I can’t understand your core point here, honey.” Professor seems very confused.

“ I mean, what do you put in us to make us crime-fighting heroes? What gives us consciousness? Or are we programmed to be good, law-abiding citizens, fighting crime and forces of evil?” she didn’t take a single bite from her plate.

“For conscious? Nothing. I just created a replica of humans in the lab. Chemical X gives conscious and free will. It is like the soul of a person with superpowers. The superpower was an extra perk of creating artificial life.” Professor took a few bites of his food. “I thought it was about the boys.”

“It is about the boys.”

“Enlighten me then.”

“so sugar spice and everything nice or snip, snail and puppy dog tail does nothing on the personality of these beings?” it seemed like she was writing a research paper on her kind.  
“it determines gender, rest is all Chemical X.” Professor seemed disturbed by her inquiries. 

“So boys can choose between good and evil?” Rhea asked. She also got out a notepad and started writing.

“yes, Rowdyruffs can be superheroes if they want and Powerpuff can be villains. It was all about the upbringing and letting them know that they have a choice in this matter.” She was listening carefully and making notes.

Professor knew this daughter was most mature and wise among her sisters. She didn’t delve into matters that didn’t have importance. After many years, she was once again questioning the philosophy and working behind her kind, it meant there was something going on. 

They finished their meal in silence. Blossom/Rhea helped Professor clean up the dishes.

“Am I allowed to know what is on your mind, Blossom?” he finally asked when she got up to leave.

She sighed. Then gave her father a sad smile.

“I can't tell you, Professor. Not until I have an objective straight in front of myself.”

Professor knew not to bother her anymore.  
………..

Butch got adopted too.  
Boomer's adoption had made a significant change in him. He wasn’t throwing tantrums and was actually putting an effort to not fail school. Brick was left alone. There were many who got interested in him as well but his red eyes scared most of them away. 

Time passed and he turned 16 in the juvenile with only Bubbles as a friend.

Bubbles came to visit him every Saturday. Telling Brick all about the outside world. Her school, her crushes, fights with her sisters, fight with monsters which were rapidly decreasing thanks to Professor's monster barrier. Firstly, he used to get annoyed by her gossips. With the passage of time, he started to listen to her with mild curiosity. Even looking forward to the “what happened next” parts.

It was Saturday, Bubbles and Brick were playing checkers during her usual visits. When he defeated Bubbles 5 times in a row, he got worried. Bubbles weren’t even trying. She was quite passionate about board games and always gave her all.

“You okay, blondie?” he couldn’t keep worried out of his voice.

“I'm going to France.” She mumbled.

He took a minute to comprehend. His mind clearly telling him she was talking for a long time.

“Why?” he asked.

“I got a scholarship to study renaissance art in one of their top art schools.” Her voice was void of emotions.

This should be celebrated! He thought. She should be happy.  
She was an exceptionally great painter herself. Brick knew that.

“It is a great opportunity but I… I don’t want to…” she covered her face to more her tears.

“You don’t want to leave me here alone.” He whispered. “I get it.” He smiled and softly pulled her hands away from her friend's face.

“I grow up, Bubbles. I can take care of myself. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Bubbles shook her head.

“I’m not grown up!?!” he tried to lighten the mood.

“I don’t want to leave you. You are my friend, Brick.” She said between sobs.

“Yeah, we are that.” He got unsettled. He wasn’t good at expressing feelings.

“How long?” he wanted to know.

“3 years. What if I won’t see you again ever? What if they let you out and I can never….”

‘chill out, blondie. Stop acting like a child. Two years more, I’ll be out of this place. If you won’t find me, I’ll find you then you take to McDonald, Starbucks, and all those places.” He knew how much bubbles dreamed of going to that art school. 

“you have already suffered a lot. I don’t want you to feel alone because of me.” She was too sad. 

“I lost my brothers to this world but I didn’t suffer. All those decisions we’re done for the greater good. And you going to that school is greater good because they deserve you.” He wasn’t sure if his words were conveying his feelings.

“You are sacrificing too much, Brick. You are becoming too selfless.” She pointed out.

“No. I want my friend to live her dream. That’s not sacrificing. That’s being happy for your friends.” 

She threw her arms around him. She mumbled how it was her last Saturday with him.

She never told him one thing. He was more than a friend to her. He was her brother. She had even asked Professor to adopt him but Mayor said he don’t make enough to support another child. 

She desperately wished that Professor Utonium would have been rich. A person can never get each and everything they wish for.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“let me tell you, Arias, just round them up and put some fake charge on them!” Ryan was acting like a brat.

“that’s illegal, Ryan.” Arias shrieked. 

“Then let them kill others.”

“Ryan!” 

“We have no plan to get them. There’s no slip-up in their planning” Ryan was hysterical. “They kill African Americans, Jews, but illegitimates?”

“We need a plan not bickering, you shithead!” Arias was frustrated as well.

This argument was getting nowhere. Rhea was fed up with both of them.

“If I may interrupt you, gentlemen, for a moment?” she didn’t want to talk to them about her plan because somehow the plan seemed illegal to her. 

Arias looked at her. Curious about her plan.

“This a serious problem, Rhea. I don’t think a simple consultant can solve this case.” Ryan’s remarks made Arias angrier than Rhea. 

“She is a fine consultant, Ryan. Your words are rude and disrespectful.” ‘why am I getting so angry?’ Arias thought. ‘This is very unlikely of me.’

Rhea deliberately tried not to think about Arias’ mental state.

“Someone has to join their cult, making them believe that they are interested in their cause. Then we can bait them to murder someone and can capture them as they come to murder the bait.”   
Both men were gawking at her, making her self-conscious.

“is it that much of a stupid plan?” she knew it wasn’t. She had all the details planned in her mind but she couldn’t expose herself as a Blossom of PPG. She played a doubtful, frail girl.

“No. Not at all. But it is difficult, ain’t it?” Ryan asked.

“I have details planned if you think we have a chance.” She said and started giving details.  
She wanted confirmation from Arias.

Arias and Rhea looked at each other. Arias Callahan was weighing the possibilities. His mind was shifting gears skillfully to play pros and cons. Rhea, on the other hand, was modifying her plan simultaneously listening to Arias’ thoughts and judgment. They both were working like well-oiled machines without holding a conversation.

“Let me get this straight. One infiltrates their cult, other activities as an illegitimate child but first one’s partner. Infiltrator will persuade them to kill and then the police will catch them at the spot red-handed?” Ryan inquired.

“Exactly.” She smiled.

“that’s crazy.” Ryan whistled.

“This could actually work!” Arias said. He was still deep thought.

“Fine. Who will be who?. Who is the bait? Ryan looked at them.

“Me.” Rhea replied calmly. “if Callahan starts reading their literature from today and actually pull this act, we can actually turn this thing around.”

“Why Arias? Why not me?” Ryan pouted.

“No offense, Ryan but you are quite impulsive and I don’t think you can actually act out as a cult member.” She was dead serious and Arias laughed.

Ryan exhaled loudly.

“If it goes sideways, it would be suicide.”

“It is the only way, I can think off.”

‘Genius! It is a solid plan. But…’ Arias stared at her. ‘does she have any kind of death wish? She is still a consultant. We can get her killed.’

“Trust me, it will work out.” She didn’t want to say as a brain of PPG, her plans rarely fail.  
“But Rhea…” Ryan still hated that plan.

“It is the only way. I’m telling Chief that we are going undercover.” Arias just got up to leave. 

Arias got a get-go from Chief. He spends the next 5 days reading rereading KKK literature, their ways. He colored his hair getting a lighter shade. Got a fake tattoo of a swastika on his arm. He practiced acting, showing disgust while talking about white supremacy.

With the help of Tristan, they learned the location of KKK clam members. It was so weird that the lived in the nicest outskirts of the town.

Arias and Rhea went there every day pretending to take a walk.

Arias used to say hello to the people there even making acquaintances. They closely observed them and figured out where the of them lived.

One evening, they decided to put their plan into action.

“Arias?” Rhea's voice was small.

“Hm?”

“Just don’t hit me too hard okay?” 

He squeezed her hand in reassurance. 

Then he spun and slapped her hard.

“You bitch! You are a Jew? How come you never told me?” he shouted.

Rhea's cheek is pained. He had slapped her hard enough to make other beliefs.

She started to sob.

“I thought you loved me.” She said between her cries.

“I loved a good Christian girl born in wedlock. Not a child of an affair and a jew. You are a whore yourself, as you are a daughter of a whore!.” ‘I’m so sorry’ he pleaded in his mind.

Two men came up to them.

“I’ll kill you. You made a fool out of me.”

He was about to hit her again when they grabbed Arias and restrained him.

“You maggot! Your product of adultery!” he shouted. “ill rip your throat open.”

“Lady, you should go away.” One of the men spoke with disgust. 

They both were confirmed KKK members. Arias had seen their clan tattoos. He had met them at a gathering.  
……………..

“Sit down, son.” One elder man said to Arias. He had a huge beard, bulky body. He poured him a cup of coffee. 

“I swear to God, I’ll kill her. She played me!” Arias yelled again. 

“Easy there, tell me, son. What’s the matter. I promise I’ll help you.” 

So Arias told a fake story that how he met Melanie Sikes. He fell in love with her and wanted to make out with her. But she turns out to be illegitimate child and atheist. He who was raised in Christian Commune under Brother Ezekiel Styne doesn’t want anything to do with Jews and Blacks.

“Well, son. Looks like you are again in people of your own.” The elder man showed a tattoo on his forearm. “I’m Brother Hector.” 

“I'm Solomon Ezra Jennings,” Arias told him. In two days’ time, they start trusting him with everything.   
………………….. 

Brick Jojo sat alone in the hall. Other boys were out in the ground, playing. Three years in Juvi, on his best behavior, yet Juvenile personally still didn’t trust him. According to schedule, it was his time with Bubbles. He knew that she was gone. He had to spend those hours alone from now on. New worker Wilson walked slowly towards him. Wilson usually looked afraid of Brick, but he never spoke rudely to him. 

“Brick Jojo, someone's here to see you,” Wilson said. 

“Who?” Brick asked. 

“Professor John Utonium,” Wilson told him.  
Brick got really nervous. Meeting Bubbles every Saturday was one thing but spending two hours with a scientist? He went to the mirror, readjusted his cap, and lowered his upturned sleeves. 

“Let’s go.” He said to Wilson who smiled a little seeing Brick acting all nervous. 

Wilson led him to the meeting room. Brick exhaled loudly, Wilson patted his back and gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Brick, it’s real pleasure to see you finally.” Professor extended his hand towards Brick. 

“Thank you, sir.” He shaped. 

Brick was a little bit taller than a professor. Some kind of sophisticated aura and grace surrounded professor which made Brick more nervous. 

“I believe this week has been well?” the professor asked while settling down. 

“Yes, sir. All been well.” Brick didn’t want to look in the professor's sparkly genius eyes. 

“You can call me professor, Brick.” Professor pulled out an envelope from his pocket. “My daughter left it for you.” He placed in front of him. 

“Thank you, professor.” He took it. 

“I know, Brick, it’s our first meeting but I already know a lot about you through Bubbles. My daughter saw potential in you. Now that I am here, looking at you….” Brick looked at him and saw the professor smiling. “…I too see a teenager destined to be something more than a super-powered boy.” 

Professor set the chessboard between them. 

“I saw some of your reports. Problem-solving techniques you wrote in essays, fascinated.” 

Professor looked up to him. “We can polish that ability. You just need some workout.” 

“Workout as in exercise?” Brick asked a bit nervous bit confused. 

“Mental workout.” Professor gestured towards chess. 

“Chess?” 

“Ever played before?” professors asked him. 

“No.” he replied. 

Professor told him the names of pieces of chess and how they move. Brick took great interest in it. Professor told him how strategies are formed to checkmate the king, how distractions are formed to dodge the opponents. 

To Brick, it was exactly like fighting only onboard and with certain rules. He and the professor got along very well. 

For the whole year, they played chess every Saturday. The day he turned seventeen, he beats professor at chess. The professor that day patted his back and said that he’ll make him proud one day.  
Brick wished Professor created him rather than Mojo Jojo or Him.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Rhea was in her apartment. She looked at color coded papers. One was marked ‘Telepathy’, second ‘Telekinesis’ and third was ‘Elemental influence’. She took out a new page and wrote on it ‘Emotion-reading’. Her cell phone beeped. She looked at text-message 

‘We are going to attack tomorrow. Inform Ryan.’ 

She texted Kevin and started to write 

“Emotion-reading, I first discovered in Case subject A.D.C. 

A.D.C seems to capture emotions radiating from other people around him. As unique this ability seems to us, it caused us to understand that there are beings out there who’s brains are most developed than rest of us. Beings that in my opinion are not human. Subject A.D.C is apparently unsocial and focused as any robot is focused on it’s task. He is different from other non-humans I have studied because there seems to be no recollections of his past life in his mind. No memory of childhood, adolescence. He as if magically sprung out from some where at the age of eighteen. He cares about other, he is kind and show emotions towards certain environmental stimulations but he didn’t appear to have a personal life, which is oddity.” 

She placed her pen down. Her thoughts we’re fixed on Arias Callahan. She took out her I-pad and opened report on ‘Superpowers: How, when and what!’. She carefully read the work of well-known scholar and researcher of superpowers. A text captured her eye and her mind worked like a computer. 

“Brain development cease at 25 years age.” 

Arias was only 24 like her. She picked up her pen again and continued her writing. 

“Subject A.D.C’s anti-social life style made me think that his emotion-reading is restricted. He himself doesn’t know what he is capable of. Emotion-reading is only basic of his ability, an ability which is uncontrollable. In my opinion, he could also be capable of altering other's emotions even inducing of them.” 

She looked at what age has written. Then she added. 

“Just because he hadn’t tried it, he is unaware of his true ability.” 

…………………..  
Arias along with Hector Wilbur, Lemuel Osmund was standing outside Rhea’s fake apartment. 

“You can’t believe how much I hate her!” Arias snorted. 

“Easy there, Solomon. We'll take care of her.” Lemuel patted his shoulder. He was the one who killed Chase Bannet. Both Lemuel and Hector were stoutly built. The way Arias saw them chopping wood, they were very strong but cunning as fox. 

“I don’t…..I don’t think I can.” Arias said when they handed him a huge silver knife. 

“Please brother, do this for me.” Arias looked at Hector. Hector Wilbur was mastermind of all kills. 

“It’s your kill, Solomon.” Hector was angry. 

“I don’t think I am strong enough, brother.” Arias' was very mildly built but he was willowy enough to make an excuse. Hector eyed him suspiciously. Arias picking up his emotions improvised. 

“And also I am allergic to silver.” He said in small voice. Faking embarrassment. He was looking vulnerable. 

“Lemuel, you do the job.” Hector keeping his eyes on Arias, gave knife to Lemuel. They all drew their hoods up and covered their faces. They were wearing winter caps and gloves. 

Hector opened the door and Lemuel slowly walked in front. Hector and Arias behind him. Rhea had earpieces in her ears yet her mind was focused on three guys who were slowly advancing towards her. She closed her eyes, half scared, half trusting plan to work. Lemuel was just two feet away from her. One feet. 

“Townsville PD! Drop your weapon! Hands where I can see them!” 

Rhea exhaled. Plan had worked. She slowly turn around and saw three guys pinned to ground.   
“Officer Arias Callahan.” Callahan said to an officer. He let him go. Hector looked at Callahan with hatred and betrayal. Rhea walked to him. 

“You did it!” she was very happy. 

“We did it, Timmons.” He replied. 

Moments later, they both were sitting in Headquarters, receiving congratulations from other officers. Chief Guerra looked hard at Rhea. 

“Two weeks.” She heard Chief thinking. From three months that were given to her only two weeks were remaining. She actually got worried. She knew Arias Callahan is gifted individual, but she still hadn’t figured out his childhood and his real name. She even had no idea of his personality. She focused her ability towards Arias. He was also thinking about her. 

“I can’t believe I never had a partner before.” He was thinking. “ if she can’t earn a right to be trusted and I believe no one can.” 

She smiled at him. For the first time, he returned her smile.   
…………

“I heard there are only 6 months remaining till your release.” Professor stated. They were playing chess. “Have you given any thought to what will you do after release?” professor asked. 

“I haven’t thought about that.” Brick replied while moving his knight to check professor’s king.   
“Well, think about it.” Professor removed his check. 

“Can I have your opinion, professor?” Brick asked.   
He had been in juvi for five years. He knew five years are enough to change the world and people in it.   
“ What do you think I should do?” 

Professor glanced at him. His eyes met Brick's burning coal eyes. Professor softly smiled.   
“Somewhere.” Professor paused  
“I want you somewhere you can make difference. Somewhere you can show the world and yourself that you are changed person.” 

“I don’t want world to remember I exist, professor.” He gravely spoke.   
U  
“Why, Brick?” professor asked. 

“Look at me, professor. People actually fear me. I can never blend in humans.” He paused. 

Professor was starting him. “They fear my red eyes, my powers.” 

Professor smiled. 

“Ever heard of contact lenses, hair colors and such cosmetics?” professor rearranged the chess board. “Improvise, adapt, overcome.” Professor told him. 

“Improvise? Adapt? Overcome?” Brick looked at professor confused. 

“Yes. For people like you, it’s the only lesson worth remembering. Improvise, adapt, overcome.” Professor said. 

“Improvise, adapt, overcome.” Brick repeated, understanding these three words and then smiled at Professor. 

“Aha! You got it! the ” professor exclaimed with joy. 

“Another game?” 

“Sure.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea and Arias bond over a car ride.

Chapter 10   
Rhea quietly sat beside Arias in the car. 

“You ok, Timmons?” Arias asked while lowering the volume of the stereo. Days of normality were restored for Arias Callahan so he was back at his music. 

“I’m fine.” She softly replied, avoiding eye contact. 

“Uhuh.” He didn’t believe her. Tension. She was so tense.

Rhea had spent her last night thinking about her mission. For the first time in her life, she was getting outsmarted. The person sitting beside her was the reason for her anxieties and last night's insomnia. She managed a smile though she already knew she won’t be able to fool Callahan with it. 

“Where are we going today?” she asked, his thoughts and concerns regarding her were driving her crazy. Arias restrained himself from smiling. 

“We are going to roam around today.” He replied while starting the engine. “And listen to MY favorite music.” He emphasized the word “MY” and smiled slightly. 

“Are you always this cocky?” she inquired. 

“Only after a case gets solved.” He confidently replied and turned on rap music. 

“What’s up with you and rap music?” she welcomed the distraction wholeheartedly. 

“That crappy classic music! They are just like good steak without salt.” He replied, pumping up the volume. “This! This is downright edible!” 

She got a bit frustrated. Rap, rock, indie music always cut off though-voices. She hated that. Arias looked at her puckered mouth.

“I’ll show you.” He turned off the radio and attached his smartphone with a car's stereo.   
“There!” he looked at her. “listen.” 

She didn’t want to but she forced on the lyrics.

“That’s how we roll   
We roll like this   
That’s how we roll,   
We roll like this……” 

“That’s hot! Huh?” he asked, faking excitement. She glared. He chucked. “Ok. Try that one!” he changed the song. “Candy Shop”. She went red. She smacked his arm. He laughed loudly. 

“Sorry. Just kidding.” He said still laughing. He sobered up and then clicked one more time. The music was loud. 

“Black and blue, I crawl alone   
The wreckage of what now is gone   
Back to you to fight an another and then   
On and on and on….”   
She looked at him. He gestured to focus on the stereo.   
“I'll face the demons I created   
Every last part of me   
Will scream and fight   
On and on and on…..” 

She finds that song intimidating. He wasn’t even looking at her. His face was very serious, his eyes were looking in the space. She tries to focus on his thought-voice. She saw him picturing himself doing some horrible deeds. She placed her hand on his bicep. He snapped back to reality. ‘I’ll face the demons I created' was repeating in his head. 

“I like this one. It’s strong music.” She politely told him.

“Something else?” she asked.

He nodded and focused on his phone. 

“My personal favorite.” He told her.

Music had some gothic and punk rock touch. But it wasn’t overbearing.

“Late in the night with the moon as my company  
Over and over, it's always the same  
Whispering sounds, "What a terrible tragedy"  
Over and over it's smothering me  
Leave the world behind  
(La-la-la-la-la)  
Contemplate for a while  
(La-la-la-la-la)  
Get yourself aligned  
And learn how to look (La-la-la-la-la), how to search for the signs  
Pure fabrication, false information  
Twisted narration  
Leaving you blind  
Take the blame now  
You mess with our minds, telling lies to our eyes  
I won't take any part in this broken merry go round..”

She then focused on Arias. She vaguely heard his thought-voice chanting. “I’ll take the blame if what I did. I won't be part of a broken system. I’ll create something better for myself and the world.”  
“What is this song called?” She asked. He snapped back again. 

“Marry go round,” He told her. 

“There are two kinds of people, Timmons. People who draw their own circle and stand out, shunning society and the rules. And there are people who desperately try to for in. For both punk music is like a get-a-way.” He said in a serious tone.

Rhea knew she was the latter type. Trying to fit in desperately. 

“Which one's you, Arias?” she softly asked. He abruptly glared at her as if not expecting such a question. He lowered his head, evaluating the question. 

“I honestly don’t know.” He replied. “ Bit of both actually.” 

“Bit of both? How come?” she was gazing at him with much intensity. 

“Sometimes I think I’m just trying to fit in the world, acting normal and bullshit, sorry.” He apologized for cursing as she flinched at the swear word. “Sometimes I think I just let the world know who I am. Most of the time, I want to stay put. I want people to forget Arias Callahan. Yet deep down, I want myself recognized.” He took a breath and look at Rhea. 

“I usually don’t tell people about me.” He was a bit sheepish. 'I don’t make any sense.’ He thought.

“It's just me, Arias.” She sweetly said. “Go on.” 

“Pride is a very stupid thing. But it governs us. We want the world to know we are worth remembering though it’s not necessary for survival. You can do something good and then start putting. Not letting a single soul know what you have done. You never will. You would want praise. I too.” 

She wasn’t recognizing this Arias. This guy was someone else. 

This guy was deep. He was hurting inside and second-guessing himself. She felt nothing but compassion for him.

“Someone gave me very good advice once. ‘Sometimes it is better for you to be safe than right.” He said.

Rhea learned the most crucial thing about Arias that day. He wasn’t trying to be good or right, he was trying to be safe.   
……………   
Professor John Utonium was cooking risotto in the kitchen. Landline rang. 

“Someone please get the phone,” Professor shouted from the kitchen. Buttercup was watching some action movie and Blossom was doing her homework in her room. The telephone rang again. 

“Buttercup Utonium, please answer the phone, young lady!” Professor yelled. 

“Professor it’s Bubbles. She wants to talk to you.” Buttercup shouted from the living room. Professor sighed and turned off the stove. 

“Hello, Bubbles.” Professor took the receiver from Buttercup. 

“Professor I’ve been trying on your cell from the past three hours. Where were you?” the professor’s hand went to his back pocket? He remembered he left his phone in the lab.   
“Sorry Bubbles,” Professor replied. “My phone is in the lab.” 

“Mission S.R.” Bubbles said. Professor checked the living area. Buttercup was busy watching a movie. He took the phone into the lab. 

“I’m listening.” He said to Bubbles. 

“Brick is about to be released in a month, professor.” She spoke slowly. “What are we going to do for him, professor?” 

“What do we have to do for him now, Bubbles? We have done our job. Now it’s up to him.” 

Professor told her. “It's up to him which course he wants to take.” 

“But professor, who will accept a person who spent his past six years in juvi?” a very brutal fact that was. 

“You want to secure his future?” the professor asked. “We have done enough, darling.” He told her. 

“Think about this, professor. Who will test to check that he is no longer a villain but a good, young man who only need a chance to prove himself.” 

Professor remained quiet. Bubbles were on this aspect. 

“I'm coming next week. Please arrange a meeting with assistant mayor Ms. Bellum. I'll talk to her.” Bubbles spoke from Paris. 

“Talk to her about what, honey? What can she do?” Professor said.

“She’ll think of something. I will too.” Bubbles told him.   
…………..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song I took are WWE opening and Mary go round by a Swedish artist Yohio. He makes amazing music. All credit to them. I don't owe a single song.  
> Please comment and offer some constructive criticism. I want to improve my writing.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 

The next day, they were back at the precinct after a two-hour patrol. After their talk that started from a song, they hadn’t spoken to each other. 

“People of the year!” Kevin practically shouted to them in greeting.

“Guess what! On Friday night, our team is invited at a banquet arranged by Mayor Bellum.”   
“Wow!” Rhea exclaimed. Arias’ face was cold. 

“Man, Ari, do you owe a suit?” Ryan asked Arias. He nodded. 

“Dress up nicely, okay?” Ryan exclaimed. “And you my beautiful Rhea. I’m hoping to see you in dress – looking better than Aphrodite herself.” Ryan took her hand in his. Rhea laughed.

“I’ll be there in a brown paper bag.” She playfully replied. Arias was seeing how comfortable Rhea and Kevin were together. 

“You’ll rock that paper bag then, cuz you so goddamn pretty.” Kevin flirted. Rhea playfully pushed him away. 

Arias sensed that Rhea was always tense around him but with Kevin Ryan, she was always relaxed. 

“I'll bet you were homecoming queen back in high school.” Ryan said. “not you think, Ari? Ari?”  
He was gone. 

Arias was walking towards outside. Rhea leaving Ryan standing there ran after him  
.   
“So where to?” she asked, interrupting his train of thoughts. 

“Its, not a job, Timmons. I’m taking off early.” He said and turned towards their police car. He only wanted to spend some time alone. 

“I’m not a fun person to hang out with, Timmons.” He replied. She chuckled softly. 

“Let me be the judge of that.” She said to him. He stood there, trying to judge her intentions.   
She started back, hearing incoherent sentences that were forming in his mind. 

“Come on, then.” Arias gave in. They both get inside the car. He instantly turned on the radio. 

“Wish we could turn back time,  
To the good old days…” 

‘Good old days, huh?’ She listened to Arias making a mental sigh. 

Rhea saw three boys in Arias' mind, she knew them well.

The Rowdy Ruff boys. 

‘He is definitely one of rowdyruffs.’ She thought. ‘but the question is which one?  
’   
Arias feeling her emotions, looked hard at her. 

“You are creepy, Timmons. You know that?” he said focusing on the road. 

“I know.” She sheepishly said. He looked at her in his peripheral vision. 

“We are going to practice shooting.” He told her. 

They both spend an hour shooting in the firing range. Occasionally talking. She didn’t learn single new thing about Arias. 

………………… 

“He is just alone. I mean, he lives in solitude. He doesn’t think anything worth mentioning.” Rhea told Chief Guerra. “he doesn’t want friends, family, or any relation.” 

“That should tell you something about him. HE IS NOT NORMAL HUMAN!” chief Guerra spoke in the scariest manner. 

“He is not sick or anything.” Rhea kept her tongue civil. 

“That’s all for now.” She got up. “I’ll tell you if I learn something about him.” She felt guilty inside. She wasn’t doing her duty. Her duty was to tell Chief that Arias Callahan is, in fact, a rowdyruff. But she was taking a new course. She wasn’t going to take Arias' chance where he was only justifying his survival. 

“Dr. Simmons?” Chief called her from behind. She stopped. 

“Why are you protecting him?” the chief asked her suspiciously. ‘you a Powerpuff?’ he added in his mind. 

“He hasn’t done anything wrong. I’m not protecting him.” She sounds convincing. 

“Are you sure you are not biased?” Chief asked. 

She was hearing his thoughts. He was thinking right. She did like Arias Callahan. She had to lie till she herself doesn’t figure out the truth. 

“No. I’m not.” She said strongly and walked away as fast as she could. After all, she had a banquet to attend at night.   
……………. 

“I’m thinking about his attitude, professor.” Ms. Bellum spoke softly. “you said, he is very keen observant and he can solve most critical situations in the best way possible. Right?” 

Professor Utonium slightly nodded. 

“He is changed, Ms. Bellum. All he needs me a chance.” Bubbles pleaded. 

“And a person like him will get one.” Ms. Bellum confidently replied. 

“What do you want me to do?” Ms. Bellum asked. Bubbles looked at the professor, asking his permission. He nodded and smiled. 

“All I want the city of Townsville to utilize his abilities. We, the surrogates, are developing more interesting abilities. If our abilities are not utilized, what use are they for?” Bubbles took as breath. 

“World don’t forget rowdyruff leader easily and won’t trust him. But we can make a choice. We have a chance at a better future. All we have to do is to make a choice to trust him. He won’t let you down.” Bubbles stopped. No one spoke for a while. 

“I’ll do that, darling. Cuz I trust you and your father.” Ms. Bellum replied after thinking. 

“But!” she looked at overexcited Bubbles. 

“Trust me to keep him safe. Both of you mustn’t know his new identity.” Bubbles were about to say something but Ms. Bellum stopped her. “it is to keep you and him safe. He’ll be an amazing addition to our force.” Ms. Bellum smiled at the end. 

“I’ll call Police Chief Henley. We'll both made arrangements to get him in the academy.” 

Bubbles weren’t liking that idea. The professor could only see the scientific and logical aspects on which Ms. Bellum was talking. 

“You two have done your work. Now it’s our time.” Ms. Bellum assured them.   
……………


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12   
“It's grand!” Kevin Ryan was looking all around beautifully arranged City Hall.  
“Constructed a hundred years ago. Yet age graced it well.” Someone said behind him. He turned to meet the speaker. 

“Damn, Rhea. You want me to faint?” Kevin was looking at elegantly dressed Rhea Timmons, who was wearing long night blue dress and silver dangling earrings. Her beautiful hair slightly curled but loose. Natural make up was giving her graceful appearance. She was pretty before but at banquet night, she was looking divine. 

“You look good too, Kevin.” She politely said. 

“By the way where is Arias?” she asked. 

Kevin looked around and then replied. 

“There. Talking to Madam Mayor.” 

She saw Arias talking to Mayor Roxanna Bellum. She walked towards them  
.   
“Madam Mayor.” She greeted civilly. 

“Rhea, honey. How are you?” Mayor Bellum pulled her in a gentle hug. ‘How come you here?’ Mayor asked her in her mind. 

“I work alongside Officer Callahan in the KKK case.” She told her vocally. Mayor looked at her confusingly and then at Arias. 

“Oh, you look lovely, darling.” Mayor in an instant changed her thoughts and her emotions, leaving both Arias and Rhea stunned for a while. 

“Thanks, ma'am. You too.” Rhea politely said.

“I’ll leave you to celebrations.” Mayor Bellum saying that went away. 

Arias looked at Rhea with intensity. Slowly a smile formed on his face. 

“You look nice, Rhea.” He softly said. She blushed slightly. 

“You too look handsome.” She looked at his almost black suit with a light blue shirt but no tie. 

“I have to speak to the public. Had to dress up.” He said indifferently.   
His thoughts were fixed on her. He was noticing her grace and beauty for the first time, not in a scientific way but in an admiring way. Seeing herself through Arias's mind made her blush deeper. 

Rhea, for the first time, wanted to look right in Arias' honey eyes. She wanted to stop thinking that he was her enemy in the past. All she wanted was to be with a nice, rock-loving, strong police officer who was her partner. Arias wasn’t understanding her emotions. That was something new to him. A warm, deep feeling. He couldn’t tell if that was a new feeling was his or Rhea's. They both were looking at each other and very slowly were leaning towards each other. 

“Now. Officer Callahan will tell you about the case.” 

The spell broke. 

They both left their enchanted circle and came back to reality. Arias turned around and walked towards rostrum. Rhea went to stand near Kevin. Kevin had two glass in his hands. She not even asking him to take one and gulped down to fought her nervousness. 

“No! No! No! God damn it, Rhea!” Kevin quietly yelled. “why you took that from me?” 

Whatever were the contents of the glass, they tasted bitter and burned her throat. 

“What was it?” she asked, handing him back the glass. 

“Very potent alcoholic drink, Rhea.” Kevin apologetically replied. “I prepared it to loose up Ari.” 

“That’s why my head is spinning.” She said. Kevin instantly hold her around her shoulder. 

“I should take you home.” He said. “I’m so sorry, Rhea. But what took you over?” 

She didn’t reply. She wasn’t feeling good. Kevin Ryan led her outside and drove to her apartment. Luckily she wasn’t drunk enough to forget her address. 

“You stay inside. I'll come to check up on you in the morning.” Kevin helped her get on the bed and went back to the banquet. 

He regretted the prank he planned to get Arias Callahan drunk.   
……………… 

Arias Callahan was back in his accommodations, one-room apartment which he only used for sleeping. He took off his coat and tossed it on his bed. Opening his fridge, he took one Corona and sat on the couch. He was replaying two scenes again and again in his mind. 

That awkward moment between him and Rhea and departure of Rhea in Ryan’s arms. He was confused. 

‘Rhea likes Ryan?’ He asked himself. ‘if she does then what the hell was that warm feeling she was radiating?’ He placed a hand on his head in despair. ‘she mustn't fall for me. Nor I for her.’ 

A knock came on his door.

No one ever visited him before. He bit confused, bit suspicious got up, and went to answer the door. 

He slowly opened. 

Standing in the doorway was a woman en wearing a black hood. Her half face was covered under the hood. 

“Yes?” he inquired. Then the woman flew towards him.

He stepped back. She reached for his collar. 

“Who are you, Arias Callahan?” the woman asked him. He knew that voice very well.   
……………… 

Brick Jojo looked around Juve's main hall for the last time. He had turned eighteen that day. His last day in Townsville Juvenile Centre. The walls who seemed like a prison to him felt like old friends. They seemed like home to him that day. He was afraid, afraid of what the future might hold for him. Afraid of the unknown. Who isn't! 

“Bye, kid. Good luck!” Mr. Kinnamon said in a very plain tone. Wilson always polite, patted his back in reassurance, and smiled. 

“Come on. I'll lead you outside.” Wilson offered. Brick quietly started to walk with him.   
At the main gate, Wilson stopped. 

“Brick?” Wilson, in a very embarrassing and shy way, called him. He turned to look at Wilson. Wilson handed him a hundred dollar bill and a small box. 

“You might wanna have these.” Wilson gestured towards the box. Brick, confused, opened, and found contact lenses, greyish in color. 

“Thanks.” He mumbled. 

“Stay out of trouble, ok?” Wilson said in a casual tone and went back in. 

Professor Utonium was standing outside, waiting for him. Brick didn’t expect that. 

“Hello, Brick.” Professor greeted. “you think I’ll forget the big day, huh?” he casually said. Brick mumbled his thanks. 

“So where to?” Professor asked him when they settled in Professor’s car. 

Brick shockingly looked at the professor. How the hell he know where he supposed to go? Professor laughed at his expression. 

“Assistant Mayor Bellum wants to see you.” Professor soberly said. He didn’t ask why. Professor dropped him before City Hall. 

“Make me proud, Brick Jojo,” Professor said to him. 

He slowly went in. His fears if unknown and world soon forgot. 

When he saw his new given ID and Assistant Mayor’s proposal, he felt like he just reborn again. 

He, who wanted to seek his family, made her the dest decision for his family. He will never see them ever again.   
……………..


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13   
“Who are you, Arias Callahan?” that young woman asked, shaking him hard. 

‘Could that be true? Someone's on to him despite his most secrecy?’ he thought. 

“I have been trying…..trying to figure you……figure you out.” Rhea’s soft voice told Arias. She flew. He knew. 

She was one of the Powerpuff Girls. 

He looked hard at Rhea. ‘No!’ he thought. ‘no one can know.’ 

“Does it matter?” he coldly replied. “who was I? Who I have been in the past?”

“It does.” She yelled. “it does to me. It's my mission.” She doesn’t seem herself. She smelt of alcohol. 

“Which rowdyruff are you? How come you are in the police?” she shook him again. 

‘She knows too much.’ He panicked. ‘what am the I suppose to do?’ 

“It doesn’t matter.” He coldly replied. 

“You can’t be Boomer. Seriousness isn’t in his personality back then. Butch? No, you….” Arias jerked her away and his hand reached for bus gun. With enough force, he hit her with a gun's butt. She dropped down unconscious. He ungracefully sat down on the floor. He looked at the limp body. His hands went to his hair. He pulled them hard. 

‘I have to run away.’ The only logical gateway. He then looked at her. Her partner. The girl he had started to dream about. He gently touched her cheek. He then got up, took his police badge and gun. 

‘I wish I too get to know you better, Rhea. But I won’t let you or anyone disclose my secrets.’ He said in his mind. He carefully opened the door, again looked at lovely unconscious Rhea Marina Timmons, and went out. He hadn’t used flight ability from the past decade, yet after some struggle, he was up in the air. He secretly went inside Police HQ and placed his badge and gun on Chief's table with a note saying “I resign.” 

He stroked his police badge with love, his Adam’s apple throbbed as he gulped down his tears. He flew to the outskirts of the city. He landed on Gangrene's land. He took out his contacts, styled his hair into spikes, and fashionably rolled his sleeves up. He walked to the only known house in that area. He knocked. Door opened. Ace, the leader of Gangrene Gang stood there with a baseball bat in his hand. 

“Who are you? What do you want?” Ace demanded.

“Ace, it's Brick Jojo.” Arias hadn’t used that name forever. “I need a place to crash. Forces are after me.” 

“Brick Jojo. I'll be damned.” Ace exclaimed looking in his crimson red eyes. Ace made way for him. “Come on in, Jojo.”

Brick entered. 

“Where have you been, Jojo? Haven’t seen you since you were twelve or thirteen.” Ace asked. Brick examined Ace's house. Other members of the Gangrene Gang were not present. He remembered two of a gang member, he arrested three years ago. Arias/Brick felt guilty for using Ace.

“Where’s your gang?” Arias asked anyway. 

“Two in jail, one in France. One in Chile.” Ace was radiating something between gloom and longing. Arias placed his hand on his elbow and squeezed it. He was wishing for Ace to be cheery and happy again. Ace shockingly looked at him. Ace wasn’t radiating that gloom. He was but calm. 

“How did you do that, Jojo?” 

“What?” he asked him. 

“Take away the sadness.” Ace said. He was looking at him as if he is a freak of nature. 

“My latest ability.” He said. He himself didn’t know how he did that. Ace wasn’t much of a thinking person. 

“What do you need me to do for you?” Ace switched the conversation.

“I want a fake passport and other papers. I wanna leave the country.” Arias had made that plan along his way to Ace's. 

“It will take some time.” Ace said. 

“I can’t pay. Though I have a lot of amount in my account cuz they'll trace me.” Brick told him. He took out his phone and melted it with his laser vision. 

“I'm not a rich person, Jojo. For fake documents, you have to pay.” Ace said in a serious tone. “you can stay here as long as you want.” 

Arias thought about that. The only thing worth some money on him was his Calvin Klein’s watch. He took it off and handed it to Ace. Ace went out saying he is going to arrange his documents.   
‘Even if she told others, they'll think I left the state.’ He thought. ‘they won’t think of me being here!’ 

He looked at the old stereo system in Ace's living room. He switched to FM and tuned his favorite radio channel. As usual, it was playing a rock song. His wandering mind catches the song in its middle.

‘I’ll go away.’ He was thinking. ‘somewhere where they won’t find me. I'll be safe, I’ll start a new life. A better life.’ His mind ran the name of capitals and countries he knew. In another moment, Ace was in. 

“It'll take three days.” Ace told him. Arias nodded. 

“I'm going to sleep.” Ace said after a yawn. “you can take couch or one of my gang’s room.” Ace said. His voice becomes gloomy at mentioning his gang. He missed them so much. Arias could see that. But this time, he didn’t try to take his mental pain away. 

…………. 

“Rhea?” Kevin Ryan knocked on Rhea's apartment door next morning. “you in there?”

No answer came. 

He slowly pushed the door. It wasn’t locked. He taking out his gun, entered. The whole apartment was empty. But Rhea’s smartphone and apartment keys were right there on her bedside table. Hoping, Rhea's with Arias, he called Arias. Arias' cell was off.

He carefully locked the door and went to Arias' apartment. 

Arias' front door was opened. In the living room, on the floor, someone dressed in dark clothing was sleeping. The body was tiny to be of Arias. He carefully went towards it. 

It was Rhea. 

“Oh god!” Ryan exclaimed and knelt beside Rhea's unconscious body. “Rhea?” he shook her gently. Rhea shifted. 

“Let me sleep.” She wasn’t unconscious. She was sleeping. 

“What are you doing here, Rhea?” he shook her again. “where is Ari?” 

“I had …… this weird dream…” Rhea was saying dreamily. “I somehow was confronting Arias….”   
Ryan was looking at her with wide eyes. 

“He panicked …….and then…….he…….hit me….” She placed her hand behind her head. Her eyes were still closed. 

“Confront him?” Ryan asked. “Confront him about what?” he took advantage of her drowsy state.

“Confront him about why….. Why he is…..so ……different……” she then snapped opened her eyes.

“Ryan!” she recognized his face. “where am I?” she looked around and said “Oh!” 

She sat up. 

“It wasn’t dreaming.” Ryan couldn’t understand she was telling him or asking him. He answered anyway. 

“No. I don’t think so.” 

She covered her face with her hands. 

“What have I done?” she asked herself. 

Ryan was going through various possibilities about the situation in their hands.   
……………….


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it is small chapter but please bear with me

……………….   
Chapter 14   
Brick Jojo couldn’t sleep that night. He, to check his newly found ability to manipulate other people's feelings, since excited sleeping Ace merely by touching him and calmed him two times.   
He had liked his life as Arias Callahan. It was a good life. Even though he never got to see his brothers or his only friend. He was making himself useful. He wasn’t burdened to the world, he was only trying to earn his living. He had given up everything, his family p, his desire to start a family, everything. 

It was a very big price to pay for mere survival. But he did. 

When Ace got up, he quickly changed his Arias Callahan thoughts to Brick Jojo's thoughts. He had taken time to make a ruse story to feed Ace. Ace wasn’t very bright mind so didn’t question his ruse story. Ace went out after breakfast, he had to work on getting Brick’s fake documents. Brick's mind switched back to banquet night. He was replaying all the events. 

“Why was she looking for me?” he asked himself. ‘Chief must know about me. Mayor knows. Even good professor Utonium knows. Her sister knows. Why now? What about me?’ He remembered Rhea said that he was her mission. Who had put her on his trail? He couldn’t figure out. 

“I need to get away from this city.” He mumbled. 

……………….. 

“What have you done, Blossom?” Professor said in a grave voice to Rhea. “Do you know the consequences of your actions?” he asked. 

Blossom looked at the floor, her head down in embarrassment. She had poured down her situation. 

“Your sister and I worked so hard on him. Mayor Bellum fully cooperated. And you…..” the professor looked at Rhea with disappointment. “ruined everything.” 

A tear trickled down her cheek. 

“Did I not told you to stay away from alcohol? Did I not told you that alcohol is bad for your kind?” he harshly asked. She started to cry. 

“Answer me, young lady?” 

“You did, Professor.” She said between the sobs.

The professor let out a sigh. He rubbed his temples to calm himself. 

“Blossom. Your mind-reading ability is working, right?” he asked. 

“Yes.” She replied after controlling her sobs. 

“I’ll tell you what to do.” Professor gently put his hand on her slender shoulder. 

“You’ll first go to Chief Guerra and ex-chief Henley. You’ll let Henly explain to new Chief who Arias Callahan is. Then you'll go hunt for him. You know his thought- voice. Use that.” 

Blossom/Rhea wiped her face clean. 

“You have made a terrible mistake, now set everything straight,” Professor said gravely. She nodded and went out of Utonium residence. 

…………..   
She looked for him for the next three days. It seemed like he had vanished away from the face of the earth. His cell phone was dead, the Facebook account was untouched, his police GPS was off. She crosses checked CCTV footages of airports, subways but she couldn’t find him. She looked for Boomer and Butch and found them. They were surprised to learn that Brick was actually the renowned cop Arias Callahan. Boomer had taken the name Chase Ashford and was father young girl Evelyn. He was an assistant editor of Art Magazine. Butch had taken the name Andrew Jeffery and was the owner of a pawn shop. They both didn’t know where Arias/Brick might be. Her hopes were dying. Somehow her heart was telling her that Arias hadn’t left the city.

‘He is too smart for that.’ She thought. ‘he might have gone into hiding.’ 

She then started to try hidden lairs which most villains used. The efforts bore fruit and she found herself standing before Gangrene's house. From that house, she was receiving faint thought-voice of Arias Callahan. 

………………   
Rhea slowly went back to Utonium residence. She called Mayor Bellum, PD Chief Guerra, ex-PD Chief Henley, and her sister Bubbles from Paris. 

“He is in there. In Gangrene's house.” She told them. 

“What are we waiting for then. I won’t lose my best officer.” Chief Guerra stood up. 

“It’s better if you all let me talk to him first.” Bubbles spoke in a sweet voice. “he trusts me.” 

“I think, she is right.” Mayor Bellum said. 

“Let her talk first then let Rhea explain to him what happened. We'll bring him back together.” Professor nodded.   
………………....


	15. Chapter 15

Brick and Ace were going through his fake documents carefully. Everything was so perfect. His license, his passport, his fake ID, and other legal documents.

“Thanks, Ace.” Brick said to Ace

“Well, we villains ought to stick together.” Ace gave a toothy grin. “We are all family here.”

Guilt came back to crash his already spent heart. He felt suffocated. He hated now that he a detective doing such underhand stuff. But the past has come back to bite him.

Then a knock came.

“I'll get that.” Ace got up. Brick flew in the basement to hide.

“Yes, Ma'am?” Ace found a beautiful blonde standing on the door.

She smiled and with great precision, she landed a blow on Ace knocking him out cold. She flew down into the basement. 

Brick sat behind a table, hiding. He could read a person coming closer. Calmness was all the person radiated.

“Brick?” A familiar voice. A voice that he longed to hear for long but he knew he shouldn’t. She was here. She remembered him. She called his name. His true name.

“Come out, please.” 

He stayed hidden. 

“You do remember me?” A tear slipped from his eye.

He slowly slid out from his hiding spot. She was still so small. Her once long golden strands were cropped into pixie haircut. Her sapphire eyes were still shining and wide. She matured but her face had the same innocence and softness.

She flew to him and soon his stupefied self was wrapped in her small arms. 

“Blondie?” His voice was merely above whispers.

She looked at him and her eyes were glistening with tears.

“Thank God, we found you, Brick.”

“we?” Her choice of words confused him for a moment then the realization hit him. 

‘No. They can’t catch me. I have to get away.’ 

“Why are you here blondie?”

Because once again you are standing on the crossroad and I'm here to help.”

“Stop being my guardian angel, Bubbles. You should've stayed away from me.”

“why? What have you done that you have to run away?” 

He snapped. “You should’ve stayed away from me.” ‘when they'll stop treating me like a kid?’ he asked himself and then realized his rudeness.

“I’m so sorry, Bubbles. I did not mean to say that.” His best friend was back and he was fighting with her. ‘Stupid!’ he mentally chided himself. 

“I know.” She simply said. She then poured out the whole story about how Blossom got drunk. 

“She is actually a psychiatrist. She was hired to find out if you suffer from some problem due to which you were refusing to have any partner in the police.” She told him. 

‘Blossom is a psychiatrist?’ he listened wide-eyed. 

“But also Chief thought that you might be aiding criminals and he shared that thought with her.” Bubbles were telling him more but his mind wandered off. 

‘Rhea is Blossom. Blossom is a psychiatrist. I was her case.’ He was taking a mental note.   
“…..and then she read in your mind that you are one of rowdyruff…..” he stopped her there. 

“She is a mind-reader?” he asked just to see that he actually heard right. 

“Yes. Aren’t you an emotion reader/manipulator yourself?” Bubbles said. 

“How do you know?” he almost shouted. 

“Bloss told me.” The answer was simple. “you shouldn’t have run away like that, Brick!” 

“I’m not Brick Jojo anymore. My name is Arias. Arias Callahan.” He hated his last name. That name signified a villain. An evil person. A rowdyruff leader. 

“Is this Arias Callahan is still my friend?” she politely asked.

He looked away. As his life as Arias Callahan, he rarely thought about his life as Brick Jojo. He occasionally missed his brothers, her, and even professor. But he was satisfied with the current position he held in this world. But it was Arias Callahan who was a respectable detective, not Brick Jojo. If he is back at being Brick, lies are acceptable. Villains lie all the time.

“You will always be my friend.” He replied. ‘Can she see how void my voice is of emotion?’ he thought. 

“I wish Mayor Bellum have told me that Arias Callahan is actually Brick.” Bubbles said. “At least we could’ve stayed in touch.” 

He felt really bad. She was his sincere friend and he was trying to feed her lies upon lies. 

“She should've.” He knew she wanted to hear him say that. Though he was thanking Mayor Bellum in his heart that she kept her promise of not telling anybody about him. 

“You won't leave us now, do you?” Bubbles asked with hope sparkling in her aquamarine eyes. 

He gave her one arm hug. Biting inside of his cheek he gave her a fake smile. 

“Of course I won’t.” another lie. ‘She’ll forgive me.’ He reassured himself mentally. ‘she’ll understand.’   
The choice was already made.   
…………….   
They all were impatiently waiting for Bubbles to come out. It has been long since she had gone in to talk to Arias or Brick. 

Rhea quickly ran her mental scan on others. 

‘I hope, she is all right….’ Mayor Bellum was thinking. 

‘Come out, blue one! I’m losing my edge here!’ those impatient thoughts were of Chief Guerra. 

‘I've been very hard on Rhea. It wasn’t her fault she got drunk….Maybe I should make a chicken casserole for her….just to make it up…’ she looked towards professor whole kind thoughts were entirely focused on her. She sat beside him and pressed his hand. 

“That’s it!” Chief got up. “I’m going in.” 

In that instant, Bubbles came out. 

“Bloss, it's your turn.” She said but the chief had already gone in. 

Professor nudged her. Taking out a huge sigh, she went in too.   
………………


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all who took the time to read this story. Now that the story has come to an end, please comment and tell me what you like or hate in this story. Thanks for your love.

“Callahan!” he heard Chief's familiar voice. He looked at the chief with clear betrayal and hurt in his red eyes. Chief Guerra threw something towards him.  
“Tomorrow I wanna see you back in the force.” The Chief’s voice was authoritative but also gentle and kind. He looked at the small golden badge shining in the dim light of the basement.   
“And your 2-word resignation letter? I refuse to accept it.” With a smile, Chief Guerra went back out. He softly touched his police badge and gulped down his tears.   
He heightened his senses and felt someone came down the stairs. He already knew who it was and he knew he couldn’t escape her even if he wanted to.  
She sat beside him The girl he knew as Rhea Timmons for the past 7 weeks and as a Blossom Utonium for an hour. He tried not to look at her. He was sure if he looked at her lovely features, he won’t be able to make a choice. She was a variable he hadn’t taken into his account when he joined the troop. He focused his mind on his badge.  
He knew she could hear his thoughts. So he took his chance.  
‘You ruined my life.’   
“Brick…” she mumbled.  
“Arias. My name is Arias.” His voice had venom.  
“Okay. Arias, I am so…” He didn’t let her finish.  
“Forget it, Rhea. Damage is done.” He said. ‘I’m saving us both the awkward moments. I have enough for today.’ His thoughts were so distinct. He wasn’t even trying to hide his thoughts.  
“Arias..” She tried to talk to him again.  
He smiled and then started to sing a song in his head, cutting all the other thoughts to the surface. His every action deliberate which allowed him to cut Rhea from reading him but at the same time keeping tabs on her emotions.  
“It's working you know.” She said softly. “I can't hear Anything except the song.”  
He hid his smile. Rhea was so wretched.  
“I can't help what I feel. I am miserable right now. There is no way to mask it.”  
He knew that. He could read her loud and clear. She was nervous, she was scared and he could see she hadn’t slept in ages.  
“They want you to come back.” She informed him.  
“Yes. I know.”   
“Then?”  
“I am not going back.” He stopped singing in his mind. She could see it in his mind. He was serious. She was the reason he fled. He wanted a fresh start. An entirely new identity and she took that away from him.  
She felt pain in her chest and her breaths became shallow.  
He whimpered. Her emotions were making a direct impact on him.  
He placed his calloused hand on her arm and took a deep breath. He calmed her down, her pain momentarily taken away.  
She gazed into his eyes. The eyes having the scariest color. Bright red. Two burning coals. She wasn’t scared. Red to her was a color of bravery, passion, and strength. He with red hair, she with pink ones, leaders of both Powerpuff and rowdyruffs was dealt with odd eyes. The odd ones.  
“Nothing has changed, Arias. Only two more people know the reality. You can adjust back on the force.” Her voice was soft. Her psychiatrist's voice.  
“Everything has changed, Rhea. My chance to start over, my second chance at life, normal life is …” his voice growing louder and wilder, “GONE!”  
His mind was disorganized. Millions of things going through his mind and she cannot grasp anything. A tangled mess of threads.  
“I won’t even bother you. If it I who bother you, I'll leave. I'll leave Townsville. I'll…”  
“It's not that, Rhea.” His voice was very low. “Will others now see me as a person I came to be or,…”  
She stayed quiet. Her silence encouraging him to speak more.  
After an audible sigh, he made eye contact. He did his best to keep her out of his head.   
“Arias…” she was desperate to know his thoughts.  
She hated invading other's privacy. She believed that every person should have a right to think what they want unless they can act on their criminal thoughts.   
She studied him finding suitable exposed skin to create a neurological connection. She called it “Dive”. A connection to read all the memories and thoughts of a person being connected to. Only the exposed part was his face.  
She took a deep breath and placed her hand on his cheek.  
He froze. His memories, his thoughts, dreams, the most private parts of his mind were exposed to her.   
‘Arias’ he heard her voice in his head. ‘talk to me'.  
‘Get out if my head!’  
‘Will you talk to me?’  
‘Get out, I said!’  
She broke the connection. She took out her contacts to expose her real eyes. Shimmering Pink.  
“It is not fair, taking advantage of weak like that.”  
She stayed quiet.  
“So you have your answers?” Arias asked. His posture was defeated.  
“I only saw where you are planning to go and you are scared. I broke the connection before I can see some meaningful thoughts.”  
“It is difficult to talk about it.”  
“But are you willing to show them to me?” she asked and placed her hand back again.  
‘It's not fair, you know.’ He said in his mind.  
‘I am sorry, Arias.’ He heard her.  
‘let me go, Rhea.’  
‘Please, Arias. Talk to me. I’ll help. No matter what you will decide, I will help you out.’  
He used his ability to judge her sincerity and she was so genuinely interested in knowing his side.  
‘After I knocked you out, I also thought a great deal about this whole scenario. If a psychiatrist and my partner changed knowing truth about me, then how can the public handle a rowdyruff who used to terrorize the city as their police officer?’  
She was ashamed of herself. She lowered her head.  
‘After I became Arias, I locked Brick down in remotest parts of my heart. I denied myself being me. Brick was bold, a bit arrogant yes, but confident, lively, and with all the rowdiness aside, he used to express his thoughts and put them into actions. He was adventurous, more importantly, I was the person who had a family. He was living not surviving.’  
‘what about Arias? Is the opposite of Brick?’ her voice asked.  
‘Arias is a good guy. He is kind, hardworking, and careful. His record is clean, he is smart, he lives to amend what Brick did. But he also lives in constant fear. He has no family, he is scared of making friends. He is afraid of what will become of him if someone will somehow learn that he is being created in a prison toilet seat and caused havoc in this town for years.’  
She removed her hand. “You are amazing, Brick. To change your life to this extent, you have accomplished so much.”  
“I want to start a life, Rhea, where I am not afraid anymore. Where there is no constant fear of rejection. An inconspicuous life. I don’t want the spotlight. All I want to live, not survive. To be me. I want both Brick and Arias to live on.”  
Hesitant, he took her hands in his.   
“Do you understand what I want?”   
she nodded.  
“Do you also understand that I can never achieve it here? I was the leader of rowdyruff. Just like the leader of Powerpuff is still serving this city, I am always the leader of rowdyruff if I am not careful.”  
“Do you want to leave this city? Start afresh?” She asked.  
“Am I allowed? Will the ones who know real me allow me to leave?” he asked in return.  
She squeezed his hands in reassurance.  
“I’ll make sure they will.”  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

A month later, A headline was running on all local news channels.  
“Townsville’s supercop Officer Arias Dylan Callahan is found burn in his vacation cabin in the woods. There appear to be burst in the oven which caused massive fire….” Blossom paused the volume.  
She smiled sadly and remembered an argument she had with her father, Mayor, and Chief. Bubbles were still not talking to her. They wanted to keep Brick here in Townsville. How she had told them that he had atoned a lot, paid for every crime with interest. They had to let him live the life of his own choice.  
She was prepared for the pseudo funeral Arias was having. She checked herself in the mirror. Her black clothing was perfectly suited for the funeral.  
She heard the knock.  
She opened the door only to find a delivery guy.  
She signed to receive the package.  
It was a small box. A letter, an IPod, and a key.  
Her heart was beating faster and faster as she read the letter.  
Rhea or Blossom whatever you prefer,  
I cannot thank you enough for how you f get for me. Thank you. You provided me with a chance to live. Keep an eye on my brothers. Especially my niece Evelyn. I knew about Boomer and Butch but I can’t just go and introduce myself to them. I watched them, looked out for them. Please watch over them in my stead. I leave you my Harley Davidson, keep it or sell it, your choice.   
Tell Blondie and Professor to forgive me.   
Btw, Pink, you have crappy taste in music so listen to what I leave you.listensisten to Bach, Mozart in this century!  
Don’t ever try to find me, please. There are finally prefer left unsaid. We both know what they are. Speaking of it won’t do anything good about it.   
I don’t want to be forgotten so remember me once a year at least. I want to be remembered by the one who prodded my head.  
Arias  
She placed the letter and key in her safe compartment and attached headphones iPod to listen to Three Days Grace. She didn't bother to hide her tears.  
…………  
Somewhere in the middle of Argentina, A tanned guy was looking at his red eyes in the bathroom mirror.   
He placed brown lenses in his eye es when someone called in a thick Latin accent.  
“Luca?”   
“Si?”  
“Vamos amigo, we have work to do.”  
He took his bag which had mechanical tools.  
He had made his choice but he knew he can never be free.   
Pink eyes and long hair of her psychiatrist back in Townsville still haunt his dreams.

The end

**Author's Note:**

> This is something I had written ages ago. Did some tweaking, hopefully, you guys like it.


End file.
